A MATTER OF TRUTH

The Herald and Ace Reporter David Ovalle, fresh from covering protests and a run-in with an obnoxious Florida Highway Patrol Trooper that threatened him with arrest for "inciting a riot", has interviewed everyone's favourite judicial candidate, the colorful candidate (not to mention the candidate of colour) the one, the only, the woman, the myth, the legend in the making, the Rosy Aponte. The colorful article is here.   (You may need a subscription to access it. We recommend it. Ovalle needs a raise. Pony up a few bucks from your business account). 

Aponte told Ovalle that the use of the term "colored people" was just an innocent mistake. A slip of the tongue. A bit of the old nerves. She meant to say "people of color". Case over. Much ado about nothing. Ahhh....but Rumpole has questions. Just a few questions on cross as some litigators are wont to say. 

First: The moderator specifically asked Aponte about whether she recognized that her use of the term colored people was something that people find offensive. She did not gasp in horror, apologize for her slip up and correct the record by saying that she meant to say people of color. No, what she did was feign ignorance- stumbling through an explanation where she said she was told it was ok to use that term. She mentioned that  Megan Markle used the term and that was good enough for her. She said  she never knew the term  was offensive because no one told her it was offensive. She detailed an extensive study of the issue, being told the term minorities was fine, then it was not, then it was.  

She told the Wilkie Ferguson Bar Association that she was colored because like Senator Warren, she is Indian. (She didn't say Native American, but we will leave that tepee unturned for now).

And then she said this in response to a question by the moderator:
 And The reason I said colored is because when  I was mentioning minority they said minority was no longer politically correct. 

So Ms. Aponte, were you lying to the moderator when you specifically defended the use of the term colored, or were you lying to Ovalle when you said you meant to say "people of color"?

Point II: A call to Camillus house has yielded some issues about whether she actually volunteered there to cook for the coloreds. So before we go any further, perhaps Candidate Aponte may want to amend her answer and say something like that what she meant was that she often tosses the remainder of her French fries at the bottom of the McDonalds bag to people in the street when driving by Camillus House. Because her  statement that she cooked there as a volunteer is, as they say in Southie, "Suspect". You might want to fess up before we get to the bottom of this. 

Point III: Likewise your newfound membership in the NAACP which you told Ovalle you belonged to. We wonder why you didn't tell that to the colored members of the Wilkie Ferguson Bar Association when asked about your involvement in the community? And we are checking with the NAACP as to if and when you joined. 

Query: If appearing before a Bar association makes you nervous Candidate Aponte, then what are you planning to do when trying a death case and Alex Michaels turns over the defense table during a demonstrative cross and kicks the court reporter for good measure? Perhaps the high pressure position of circuit judge is not something you are cut out for. Have you considered traffic magistrate in Two Egg, Florida?

Point III: Why are you working for a law firm where the named partner was never admitted in Florida and has been disbarred in New York for trust account violations of a client's money? When you lie down with dogs you get fleas, and is ethics something you consider when taking a job? 

Point IV: We offer you the blog, front page, unedited. All you have to do is send an email. Have at it. Answer these charges, or say what you wish. 

For those of you offended by our use of the term colored, it is being done to mock the person who wants to be your next circuit judge. We recommend you read Ovalle's article, which delves into the reasons why the term is offensive.